


If You Die On Me, I'll Kill You

by Spot_On60



Category: The A-Team (2010), The A-Team - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-06 04:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11592621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spot_On60/pseuds/Spot_On60
Summary: Here's a story for a prompt from Indigo:Five times that Hannibal thought Face was dead and the one time he really was. (Haha - no, only kidding on this one!)(I took it as a challenge; although, in the end it was 4 & 1)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [indigo (indigo_angels)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigo_angels/gifts).



"So there you have it." Face finished the story of how his presentation went with the Generals.

When it was first brought up for him to make the presentation he was more than agreeable with Gen. Morrison. "Sure! I'd love to help Hannibal with that." His mind was already reeling with fragments of ideas.

"I think you misunderstood me, Lieutenant. I don't want Hannibal. I want you." Looking to Hannibal he added, "No offense."

"None taken." Hannibal was grinning from ear to ear. He was so proud of his boy. Face tended to shy away from solo assignments. That deeply ingrained doubt so often holding him back. This presentation was exactly the confidence booster he needed.

The presentation was part of a five-day conference being held at the Copenhill Hotel in Atlanta. Besides Face's part there was also time set aside for Hannibal to address the Generals on specific aspects of Ranger Alpha Teams. Hannibal had finished his bit in the morning section and was waiting for Face when he finished up at 15:00 later that day.

They had walked down the hall to the elevator bank intent on going to their shared room for Face to change before they headed to the hotel's pool. Both were studying their phones. Face checking messages that had come in while his phone was shut off. Hannibal searching the Open Table app for dinner reservations. The down arrow lit with a ding and the elevator doors opened.

It was their habit for Hannibal to stay back for a few steps, allowing Face ahead of him. When they had first started their affair they'd had some awkward moments as it was second nature for both of them to acquiesce to their dates. There were more than a few times when they stood in front of doors insisting the other go first. After once too often of them both giving up the argument and smashing into each other as they simultaneously swung into a doorway, Hannibal put his foot down and said Temp was to lead all entries. There would be no further discussion.

"Ah!"

Hannibal took a step forward and looked up at the exclamation of surprise only to find Face gone. For a split second it didn't register. Then it came to him he wasn't looking at an elevator car he was looking at cables. "Jezus! Face!" He peered over the edge but could see nothing beyond ten to fifteen feet down. "Face! Do you hear me?"

He dialed 91 then stopped. Instead he hit speed dial 1. From the dark abyss faint notes of Cole Porter floated up the shaft, You Do Something to Me, the dedicated ringtone Temp had chosen for John.

He disconnected the call and went back to 911.

Fifteen minutes later and Hannibal had taken the stairs down two flights, waiting anxiously with the hotel manager for emergency responders. He had called Temp's phone on each floor, listening closely at the door. He was convinced the elevator car was stopped on the ninth floor. He called back to 911 to tell them but hung up when they asked him to stay calm and stay on the line. He felt useless as he tried unsuccessfully to pry the doors open with his hands.

Russ Morrison found him when word of an accident involving a soldier had reached the upstairs ballroom the Generals had taken over for their conference. "Tell me what's happening, Hannibal. It's not Face in there is it."

"Yeah, Russ it is."

Morison looked around and zeroed in on a likely commander amongst the responding firemen. He introduced himself and told the man he understood his time was valuable, but was hoping he could tell them a little about the situation. He could imagine he would be just as concerned if it were one of the men under his command. Russ was a sly one. Always managed to have people begging to give him information.

Hannibal's assessment was correct. The elevator was there where they stood, on the ninth floor. They were waiting on an elevator mechanic to open the doors. In the meantime rescue had lowered a fireman and paramedic down from the eleventh floor. They were currently rigging a basket to lift the man in. Either the mechanic would get there or they would hoist him. Whichever was ready first was the way they would go.

"Is he.." Hannibal began to ask, but was cut off by an index finger raised as the commander pressed a finger to his ear.

"He's awake. He's talking. He's able to answer questions." He listened a little longer before announcing he had to go. They were ready to lift Face out.

Hannibal's knees had buckled. Russ was surprised when he looked to where Hannibal had just been standing and he wasn't there. Instead he was leaning against a wall, chin pointed up, head back and eyes closed.

Russ approached him, placing a hand on his bicep. "Come on John. Let's be the first thing that boy of yours sees."

Hannibal tried for a smile, but it really came out as a grimace. Russ nodded in understanding, turning to make his way to the stairs. Hannibal pushed off the wall and followed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hannibal! Hannibal."

The pilot was wild-eyed as he ran towards the Colonel and General. Even if he hadn't heard his voice Hannibal could see from yards away the distress the man was in. He and Russ glanced at each other before changing course to meet up with Murdock.

"What is it, Captain?" the General dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"Hannibal. It's Facey! They made me leave him," Murdock's dust covered face was streaked with tracks from his tears. "They made me leave him, Hannibal." The fine thread he had been holding snapped and he began to sob. The words coming from his mouth were incomprehensible, nothing but babbling.

Without forethought, Hannibal shouldered the General out of the way and took a firm hold of Murdock's biceps. Holding him at arm's length his CO gave him a light shake.

"Murdock! Breathe. Hey. Up here," the Colonel ordered. When the green eyes lifted, Hannibal felt a stabbing in his chest but had to ignore it. "Tell us what happened."

Face and Murdock had been recruited for a mission into the mountains headed by rental soldiers, Black Forest. Brock Pike had approached General Miles requesting a sniper and helicopter. After detailing the plans, Miles knew the complexity was beyond the men he currently had available. He turned to General Russell Morrison who sought out Colonel Hannibal Smith.

"It sounds tight," Russ had explained to his old friend. "I honestly can't think of anyone better suited than those two boys of yours, Peck and Murdock."

There had been a week's worth of preparation and both men were comfortable assuring Hannibal, for them, it was a piece of cake. Timing was important, but it was nothing compared to the team's usual fair. Murdock would fly them in. He and one of Pike's men, Reilly, would remain with the chopper. Face would move out with the rest.

The sniper and another of Pike's men, Van Holden, would split off, climbing to higher ground where they could overlook the ruins of the brick and stone fort below. Face was charged with taking out the guards to the back of what now appeared to be an open-topped rat maze and provide cover for the men as they entered the ruins.

It could have been a major cluster-fuck without the ingenious pilot flying them in low to land soundlessly within a valley. Murdock not only knew the mechanics of sweeping in a mere forty to fifty feet from the ground, he also understood the acoustics of these ranges. He brought his bird in knowing full well how to angle his rotors to bounce sound from canyon wall to canyon wall without an upper flow up over the crests to alert their targets.

It was a short climb from where they landed for the men to reach the pathway originally cut in ancient times. As the other men set out to scale the hill leading up and out of the valley Murdock and Reilly settled in to pacing and scanning in all directions along the ridge tops. They anticipated a wait of up to five hours.

"Talk to me, Captain. What happened when you landed." Both Hannibal and Russ watched as the man before them fought hard to pull himself together. After a few stumbling false starts and one more quiet encouragement from his CO he was able to form fairly complete sentences.

"We landed without a problem. Everyone moved out except me and one other guy. They were only gone an hour and a half when we heard the sound of a strike come over the top of the ridge. Whatever it was, it had to be big. It wasn't gunfire." He looked between the two men to confirm they were following him. Hannibal nodded at him. A silent "go on."

"It was only fifteen minutes, couldn't have been more when were heard gunfire and saw them coming back over the ridge. They were sliding and rolling down the hill. I got in and fired up my bird. Was ready when they started climbing in. I looked around and Face wasn't with them. I asked where he was. Pike said he didn't make it. Said he caught it on the mountainside. Then he was yelling for me to go." And he again broke down.

Now the General addressed him, "Keep going, Murdock."

"I .... I took it up. We were facing toward the way they came. I looked at the ridge and I saw him. I saw him and started to put it back down. But Pike. Pike was screaming at me. He kept telłing me to go. I said I wasn't leaving without him and that's when he aimed out the side and said he would shoot Face himself if I didn't go." He was sobbing now. "Oh god, Hannibal I left him there. I left him."

Hannibal was frozen. There seemed to be a misfire within his brain. He still held Murdock by the arms but was looking past his shoulder.

"Hannibal?" Russ urged.

Murdock began again, "As I turned out I saw his face. I saw him looking right at me. And I was leaving him." He spoke his next words almost as a whisper, "I saw him go down."

"What do mean you saw him go down?!" Hannibal was shouting.

Murdock took a breath before looking him in the eye. "He was hit, Boss."

"Are you telling me he's dead?"

"I think so. I saw him go down, but I don't know."

Hannibal could only stare at him. Russ took over.

"Hannibal. Get him to Cash." When the Colonel only blinked and looked at him, Russ raised his voice. "Cash! Get him to the med tents now!"

"I have to go look for him." Hannibal seemed to be in a dream state.

"No!"

That snapped him out of it. "We're not leaving him out there!" Hannibal argued.

"No we are not. But you are not going anywhere other than..." He was cut off.

"I'm going out to find him," the Colonel said through his teeth.

"Now you listen to me. I am going to put a unit together to search for him. We will bring Lieutenant Peck back. Understand?"

"I..."

"That's enough! You're staying here. That's an order!"

Hannibal jolted, coming halfway to attention. Murdock whined high in his throat, clasping his hands together in front of his lips.

"John," Russ addressed him quietly, tipping his head towards Murdock. "Your man needs you. Take him to medical."

Hannibal looked to Murdock who was now vigorously shaking his head. "I don't need anything. I'm okay. Realły I'm okay. I need to go file my Combat Report. I'm okay." The more he babbled the clearer it became he was anything but okay. Hannibal watched as his eyes lost focus. Watched as he pointed out to the desert each time he said he needed to file his CR, rather than behind him in the direction of the debriefing tent.

Hannibal was torn, but in the end knew two things: he wouldn't disobey a direct order and Russ was right, Murdock needed him. "Who are you sending."

"Bushi," he said referring to Col. Oshiro by his nickname.

Hannibal knew Bushi well, had partnered teams with him several times. He knew if it was anyone but himself or Russ who would find his man, it was Bushi.

One more look at Murdock and he knew the Captain was no longer in the here and now with them. He said quietly to Russ, "As soon as I have him settled I'll come find you."

"No you won't."

Hannibal furrowed his brow and barely shook his head in question.

"I'll be with Bushi and his men."

Hannibal slumped and felt his knees go weak. He was beyond grateful. "Thank you, Russ."

Morrison nodded once before addressing a group of soldiers who had stopped a bit aside when they heard Murdock's ramblings, "You four. Spread out. Find Sergeant Baracus. Tell him to meet Colonel Smith at medical."

Four "Yes, Sirs!" were his answer before they disbanded in different directions.

 

It was going on 19:00 the following evening. Hannibal and BA had been beside their pilot as he slept off the sedatives he had been pumped full of the previous two days and evening. Hannibal looked up from staring at the floor. BA's eyes drifted from his magazine to his Colonel's.

They had heard it together. The unmistakable sounds of wounded being brought into the Combat Support Hospital, or "Cash" as it was nicknamed. They heard the bustle, doctors shouting orders, nurses confirming and shouting out orders of their own.

The privacy curtains had been drawn around Murdock's bed. Hannibal stood, but before he could reach the curtain to step out Russ had pushed it aside and stepped in. Hannibal immediately saw how dust covered he was. So much so he almost missed the blood caking his hands.

"We have him. He was hit in the leg. He did a good job of laying low and applying a tourniquet. We field dressed him coming back in."

Hannibal began to step forward.

"Stay here. He's headed into surgery. Me or the doctor will come get you when he's out. It's Janet Moore. You know she's good."

Hannibal's eyes wandered the opening in the curtain, but snapped back when Russ again spoke.

"Relax, John. He's in very good hands."


	3. Chapter 3

They were in the water, every one of them. Hannibal surfaced, spinning around taking a head count. Didn't take much. All he saw was BA bobbing up and down in the waves.

"BA!" He watched as the man turned in the water to face him, relieved he was heard.

"You see them, Boss?" he yelled back before breaking into a crawl in the Colonel's direction.

Hannibal was dog paddling in place. Spinning again he saw their capsized boat. He yelled over it, "Face! Murdock!" but received no reply.

BA was stroking by him. "Going to the other side, Boss." He didn't stop, just kept going, rounding the hull.

It had been dusk. Hannibal now felt night had fallen from the sky on them. There would be a full moon, but it wouldn't be shining bright for at least another hour. He again looked around trying to hold down his growing panic. Ten feet out he swam the length of the hull, peering out and beyond.

He heard BA somewhat distant, "They're not on this side!"

 _Oh God,_ Hannibal thought. "Face! Murdock!" He spun in place. "Face! Murdock!"

BA was doing the same on the other side then called to the Colonel, "Hannibal! Listen!"

Hannibal could only hear water lapping along the side of the boat, then BA again calling, "That you Murdock?" Hannibal still heard nothing and began swimming.

As he made it around to the other side of the boat he found BA clinging to the side of it, his ear against it.  
.._. ._ _._. . .... .._ ._. _ _... ._ _..

As Hannibal approached he heard the faint knocking. He only managed to hear the last two letters of the signal when he put his ear along the wood. BA had tapped back _ _ _ _._ for "OK".

"You get that, Boss?"

"No," Hannibal sputtered.

"He says Faceman's hurt." BA skipped the last word "BAD".

Hannibal only looked at the Sergeant. Slowly he closed his eyes and took several cleansing breaths. When he opened his eyes again he was back under control. Now wasn't the time to let his emotions get away from him. He now knocked on the hull.

CAN YOU SWIM OUT

They waited for a reply.

NO KEEPING FACE ABOVE WATER

"Shit!"

 

The boat they had been traveling in was rather light weight and small. Only fourteen foot from bow to stern. It had a miniature cabin with a roof that came barely to Face's waist.

When they had originally seen their transportation Face had said, "Awww....Ain't the little feller cute?"

BA, ever the optimist, said, "I'm not getting in that thing."

Murdock, of course, couldn't resist, "If you think there's room on there to hide a set of wings I'll abdicate my crazy throne to you."

"I don't think there's wings, you fool," BA snapped at him. "Don't change anything. I'm not getting on."

"You don't 'get on' a floating vessel. You 'board' it."

"I gotta board for ya..."

"Alright. That's enough. Murdock go help Face stow the equipment away, then fire this baby up. BA you untie us."

"I'll untie it and wave goodbye from right here."

"It's called 'casting off'," Murdock mumbled before ducking below.

Hannibal ignored him and instead responded to BA, "Your choice, but give me your pack so we can do this without you." Hannibal climbed in the little craft. He knew damned well BA wouldn't leave them in the lurch, but needed to bitch for awhile. For a US Army Ranger, Bosco sure liked his comforts. Hannibal did have some compassion though and decided the sooner they got under way the less time the big guy had to work himself up over the situation.

"Murdock. We'll finish that up once we get moving. Let's go."

Both men returned from below. The pilot took his place and fired up the engine. BA freed the rope from the dock cleat and stepped gingerly aboard. Face and Hannibal stepped away to even out the weight. Face bumped into Hannibal's shoulder giving him a sidelong glance and quiet smile. Hannibal winked back. They were on their way.

Murdock began a narrative about the lake they were on. "Lake Superior is the largest of the North American Great Lakes. Ontario, Canada is to the north. The US State of Minnesota is on its western bank, with both Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the south. If we crossed the UP we would catch the upper tip of Lake Michigan and could follow its western coast down to Illinois and visit Mama B in Chicago.

"Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface, third by volume. Only bested by Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in Africa. The indigenous people, the Ojibwa, or Chippewa call the lake Gichi-gami, which translates to the big sea. In The Song of Hiawatha, Longfellow referred to it as Gichi-gumi. Songwriter Gordon Lightfoot adopted the Gichi-gumi pronunciation..."

"Wait a minute! You tellin' me this the lake that sunk that freighter?" BA blurted out.

"One and the same muchacho! The Edmund Fitzgerald, launched June 7, 1958 was the largest of the Great Lakes freighters built up to that time. She and another freighter, the SS Arthur M. Anderson were caught in a storm on the lake with hurricane force winds on November 10, 1975. Captain McSorley's last message from the Fitzgerald to the Anderson was, 'We are holding our own.' She sank in the early evening taking all 29 of her crew down..."

Hannibal watched as BA clung to the side worrying his lower lip. "Come on let's get this equipment stowed. Murdock go under with Face. BA, you drive."

"It's 'pilot' Colonel," Murdock pointed out, indignant.

Hannibal squeezed his nose between his closed eyes. "BA, please pilot the vessel."

There was only a light chop to the water, certainly nothing the little boat couldn't handle. Every so often there would be a slightly larger wave. Running parallel to the shore they would occasionally be jostled port to starboard. BA was doing a fine job of navigating the waters and seemed calmer now he was in control of something.

Below, Face and Murdock were on their knees securing the equipment when just such a tussle occurred. Face fell port side with enough weight to make the little boat duck to that side. The momentum from the dip created an equal and opposite reaction to the starboard side causing Face to slide in that direction taking Murdock out like a bowling pin and slamming his own head into the hull.

On deck BA braced his legs riding up on the left knee then to the right without so much as a waver in his shoulders. Hannibal instinctively moved to starboard when the port side dipped. With Face and Murdock now shoved against the starboard hull below all four men's weight took the boat's port up in the air. For a split second BA thought it would tip back to right itself and would have if they weren't hit with another small swell. As Hannibal was thrown clear the last thing he saw was the little door slam shut on the cabin.

 

BA was tapping out more questions and Murdock was answering as best he could. Even if he could leave Face he didn't know if he could get the door open. They had a large air pocket and were good for awhile. He wasn't sure, but thought Face was somehow bound by something. No he didn't know what, it was pitch black in there. And the worst of it, he didn't know if Face was alive.

Though the boat was small, Hannibal and BA had no leverage. Their attempts at righting it only caused swamping inside with Murdock pounding out STOP STOP. It was clear to BA Hannibal was beginning to panic. He had seen it before when Face was in danger. When either of the other two were hurt or injured he moved quickly, efficiently and decisively. With Face he was flooded with emotion. BA understood. He didn't blame him. But he did need to fill in gaps and more than once give Hannibal a figurative if not literal slap across the face.

"Help me try it again." Hannibal was preparing to dive again to grab hold of a cleat and try once more to upright the boat.

"Hannibal, stop."

"No BA. One more time. We can do this."

"No we can't. What we need..."

"We're trying again! That's an order, Sergeant."

"No Hannibal!" BA seldom raised his voice, but when he did it could have the power of a foghorn. "Listen to me." He had Hannibal's attention. "Look over there." Holding the boat he pointed with his chin. Hannibal followed his gaze. "How far do you think the shore is? Is it as far as a football field."

"Less. But I'm not leaving this boat to swim for it."

"Think we can push it? We need to get where we can stand. We aren't never going to get it flipped out here."

Hannibal took another look at the shore. "Okay. Let's get it turned around so we're pushing from behind."

"Is that the bow or the stern?" BA asked.

"For now it's the back. We'll ask Murdock once we get him out of there."

The two men both pushed the stern and kicked until the bow was pointing in the general direction of shore. They took a rest and looked at each other, knowing what was going through the other's mind. That was a lot harder in practice than in theory.

Being at the stern with waves lapping they hadn't at first heard Murdock's desperate pounding. They really should have let him in on the plan. Hannibal tapped out an abbreviated version then returned to the stern.

"Ready?"

BA only nodded. They pressed their hands to the wooden planks and began kicking. They barely got it to move. A swell came in behind them and was just enough to pick things up a little. Even with the push of the waves it was slow going.

Hannibal estimated they had been in the water an hour. BA thought it was closer to two. They paused now and again to check with Murdock. He wasn't doing well.

Between the darkness and no movement from Face, he was fighting off an urge to escape somewhere else in his mind. He had wanted to give Face mouth to mouth if he needed it, but between the movement of the water and the hollow reverberations he couldn't hear if Face was taking in breaths or not. Mouth to mouth was out of the question anyway. In their predicament he was unable to get his head close to his friend's. He thought he could feel a pulse. Checking it again he panicked when he felt none. He wanted to tell the guys, but thought better of it. Checking a third time he was relieved to feel a faint but steady rhythm.

Murdock had lost all concept of time and was surprised to hear MADE IT TO SHORE tapped out. Now came the tricky part. WAIT, Murdock signaled.

With the boat now stable Murdock was able to carefully assess what was what inside the lightless cabin. It seemed Face was being held close to the hull wall by the strap of one of the duffel bags which was also caught up on some type of wall mounted hook. Each attempt to release him ended in frustration.

Keeping Face's head above the water and trying to feel all along his body had been mutually exclusive. Face was right around six foot tall and Murdock's wingspan wasn't that wide. He thought he felt something ghost past his fingertip as he followed Face's leg under the surface. He heard knocking from outside. It repeated. WHAT S WRONG.

Damn he thought. He was taking too long and Hannibal was losing patience. He signaled back. FACE CAUGHT CANNOT FREE.

CAN U OPEN DOOR

Murdock knew they meant the cabin doors. A few problems there. He didn't know if they were above or below the water line. And besides, he couldn't reach them from where he was to check without letting Face go.

NO CANNOT REACH

He heard an off sound. Having been in the dark this long he had been tuned into sounds. This one was new. There it was again. It was Face. He quickly tapped out WAIT.

"Facey? You hear me buddy?" He reached forward with his other hand to stroke Face along his jaw. "Hey, sunshine. Wakey, wakey."

Face suddenly thrashed. "Whoa! Whoa there Faceman. Stay calm. I'm here with you. You're not alone." Face stopped moving, momentarily sending a start through his friend. "You with me, Face?"

"Murdock?"

"Yeah, it's me." He stroked along his jawline again. "Do you hear what I'm saying?"

Groggy, Face answered, "Yeah, I hear you. What's happening?"

"We have a little problem. Just a second and I'll tell you all about it." He returned to the spot he had been using on the hull. BA BOSS FACE AWAKE FACE AWAKE WAIT.

"Why are you tapping Morse? Where the hell are we, Murdock?"

"Do you remember that cute little boat?"

"Yeah?"

"It capsized and we're stuck in it. We're back at shore and need to get out. But we need to figure out the best way to do that."

"Murdock?"

"Yeah, I'm right here."

"I'm blind. I can't see anything at all. I'm completely blind."

"Oh no, Facey. It's dark in here. Don't worry. I can't see anything either."

Face had reached out, taking a fistful of shirt. "You're not going to leave me here, are you?"

"No! I would never do that."

"Thanks, buddy."

"If I take my hand away can you hold your own head up?

"I think so. I'm caught on something."

"I know. I'll take care of it." He moved to Face's feet to feel around his ankles. Found the problem, another strap. This one encircled one ankle, twisted and also had the other ankle looped. Murdock was able to untangle the nylon strapping easily now he could use both hands. Without his legs being pulled the tension on the strap around Face's shoulder released and they were able to quickly free him.

Murdock signaled to the men outside that Face was free also asking them to knock on side of boat they would be lifting. With their response he held Face tight. With a head injury, he wasn't taking any chances. Though it took several attempts at rocking, the boat turned up on its side rather easily.

BA immediately spotted a cleat and had the boss help pull the boat a hair more into the sand underfoot. Giving the little vessel a shove he was satisfied it was stable. It wasn't perfectly up on its side. It angled back a bit. Hannibal was already climbing in. As he found his footing BA saw the boss was struggling with the cabin door. His head just above water, he seem to have hold of a door underwater and was pulling with no success. The little favors they had at the moment were the full moon was now high overhead and the relative stillness of the water.

"Murdock! Can you hear me?"

BA heard a response, but couldn't make out the words. He set his hand on Hannibal's shoulder. "Let me, Boss. I'll get it."

BA could feel a shifting in the front framing of the little cabin. He surmised the cabin was an add-on and only slapped together. It seemed to have racked out of alignment jamming the doors shut. Along with that the doors had been submerged for hours now and were no doubt swollen.

BA called in to Murdock, telling him to shove from the inside on the count of three. He did his best to plant himself still standing in water up to him chest. Murdock told him to hold on while he helped Face find something secure to hold onto. The count was made and with a pull and a shove the doors were open.

Murdock fell through and was underwater. BA reached down grasping a handful of shirt, picking him up like a rag pulled from a sink. He shook his head spraying water in every direction. He first words were, "Face is hurt."

Hannibal was trying to get by the two, resorting to wrenching Murdock behind him. BA stopped him in his tracks. Prepared to physically push him aside he ordered Hannibal out of the way. Murdock seemed to be the only one to take note of the fact it was the first time he knew of BA issuing a command to the boss.

Hannibal didn't take it well. "What did you just say to me?"

BA repeated himself, "I said out of my way, Hannibal. I'll get him out." He held Hannibal's stare for a count of three before adding, "Please, boss." He didn't wait for an answer before taking a breath and diving into the water. Hannibal just watched as BA disappeared. He heard a trembling voice over his shoulder.

"Don't worry Bossman. He'll be okay."

Hannibal spun and saw a very stressed looking Murdock stand in the water beside him. It was the proverbial slap in the face. Wrapping him in his arms he told him, "Thank God you're okay. You are okay, aren't you?"

"I think I'm fine."

"Thank you for taking care of him, Murdock."

"I'd never let anything happen to him if I could help it."

Hannibal gave him a weak smile then turned his head and waited. It felt as though they were on an alien landscape where time had been slowed by the gentle lapping of water. Then he felt it, a movement in the water. He just knew. Taking a breath he went under the water, soon reemerging with Face held tightly to him.

Face coughed several times as Hannibal moved him away from the cabin in time for BA to break the surface. Hannibal held his man like he would never be persuaded to let go. BA put a hand on his shoulder when he saw the quaking there.

One of Face's hands rose to cup a cheek. "It's okay John. Don't cry. It's all good."

Hannibal leaned back slightly releasing his grip and Face began to sink down into the water. Hannibal reached down and scooped the man up in his arms. "Come on, Babe. Let's get you back to dry land."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I've made a change to the prompt from 5 times Hannibal thought Face was dead to 4 times Hannibal thought Face was dead and one time he really was. Hannibal told me this has been too nerve wracking for him and asked that I hurry it up.

"Murdock! Murdock where are you?!"

"I'm here Colonel!" the brunette called as he emerged from the rubble and dust.

"Jeezus! What the hell just happened?" Hannibal had his hands in his hair and was looking at the debris in front of him. The storefront of the tiny village's market lay in splinters before them.

"It had to have been rigged," the Captain said as he too looked over the heap that had been the walkway and front wall. Beyond, the store stood undisturbed. Food cans and sundries lined the three short rows of shelving.

In his earpiece he could hear BA, "Boss! What was that?"

"Looks like the front of the store was rigged."

"You all okay?"

"Yeah. We're fine. You and Face?"

"I'm okay, but Faceman's not with me."

"He's not?" Hannibal looked to Murdock and only said, "Face."

"He was behind me. Said he was going back outside. Thought he came this way. You didn't see him?"

"No. But I was looking the other way."

They stared at each other and as if of one mind both dropped to their hands and knees to start digging. Hannibal was picking up debris and throwing it into a new pile he was creating behind him. He pulled on a timber that wouldn't budge. Trying another hold he was relieved to see with the second set of hands that had appeared it was lifting.

"Is it Bosco? the panicked voice asked.

"No. It's ..." Hannibal began as he glanced up into those bright blue eyes. He sat back on his heels. "Murdock," he called. "You can stop."

Murdock looked over his shoulder, directly at Face. "Where did you go?" he demanded angrily.

"I told you I was leaving. Went out the back door."

"What the fuck, Facey!"

Face looked between Murdock and Hannibal. They both looked a little unnerved.

"What?"

 

 

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	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. After four times Hannibal thought Face was dead we arrive at the time he really was.  
> The original prompt was for five and one, but I only managed four and one so if someone has another not dead idea let's add it on to co-author.

"Who wants a stuffed dog?" was met with a chorus of, "I do!" and "Me!" and "I want one!" from a gaggle of nine children.

The screech of, "Me!" in his ear made Face wince and pull away from the excited child in his arms. The little boy was all but vibrating with excitement. He could hear Hannibal laughing off to his right. Turning his gaze in that direction Face confirmed Hannibal's mirth was pointedly squarely at him as he shifted the little girl whom he was holding.

There was another girl, a year older than the boy he carried, who had a finger firmly hooked on a belt loop of Face's jeans. "What a'ya gonnna do Faceman?" the six-year-old asked.

Face leaned down a bit and pointed with his free arm. "See that over there? It's called a shooting gallery." Standing straight again he called out, "Come on guys."

The four men set off after him as he made a beeline across the midway for the booth. Besides the three children between Face and Hannibal, BA and Murdock were each escorting two. Sergeant Mike Burris carried another and also had one with a finger hooked on a belt loop. BA had roped the team into helping him and his friend escort the kids to the carnival that had come to town outside the Army base. Mike had made the arrangements to bring the group of Army brats to the fair giving their grateful parents a break for the afternoon and early evening.

Face held Gavin for several minutes while he assessed the set up of the booth. There were cutouts of ducks moving from right to left across the expanse. Above them ran a chase sign announcing in blinking lights 6 shots for $3, every 3 hits wins a prize. He noted the speed of the sign did not synchronize with the speed of the ducks. It was slightly slower, which gave the ducks the impression of racing.

Above the chasing letters were bullseyes that shifted from left to right and back again. On closer inspection the bullseyes didn't track at an even pace. They were faster as they moved to the right for three passes, then switched too move faster to the left for three passes. Rotating on a wheel behind the bullseyes were the cutouts of tin cans and old bottles with only the top half of the wheel visible. Every three to four cans were labeled with enticements saying they were worth double points. One last distraction were cutouts of the sun and moon popping up and down on either side, each at an erratic pace. Along the bottom of each of these were tags telling of triple points. Besides the visual impact, he noted from the teenager currently taking shots there were bells and whistles to add to the distractions.

Hannibal had come to stand beside Face and soon found himself a bit wobbly watching the dizzying cacophony of movement. He looked to his man and marveled at his concentration. The barker was doing his best to distract and egg the LT on. Face's eyes stayed forward as he concentrated on his targets.

Gavin became restless in Face's arms and he was lowered to the ground. Before leaving the base there was a powwow of sorts with the rules of their excursion clearly spelt out. One of which was while on the ground the kids were to hold on to an adult's belt loop. So as soon as Gavin's feet hit the ground he latched onto Face's jeans.

The two children held on tight. Emma embraced his thigh with her free hand, pressing her head to his hip. Gavin was leaning away with his free arm extended out, seeing how far he could reach away without letting loose of the loop. Face stood with his arms crossed, studying.

Hannibal marveled at his young man. Face was often separated from the team in his role as sniper. Seldom was Hannibal a witness to this. His concentration didn't waver and wasn't disturbed by the children hanging on him. He didn't seem to be aware of Hannibal staring at him either. His lover took in the scene and liked what he saw when Face came out of his private rumination and petted the heads of the children in his care. He smiled down at them petting once more as he told them, "You two go with Colonel Smith."

They both looked up at him a little bewildered, but Hannibal called them over. Still holding Amy, Gavin and Emma now latched onto him. "What do you think Temp?"

Face looked over to him and smirked, "I got this."

Hannibal knew he had it and stayed put as Face stepped up to the barker and turned over the cash. His first shot with the air gun barely touched a duck. Hannibal watched as he repositioned his grip on the gun. The next shot caught the backend of a duck, knocking it back. Another grip adjustment was made compensating for the misaligned sight and he was off and running. Shot after shot hit its mark.

He turned over more cash and took aim again. Hannibal thought it was a thing of beauty. He relished having a legitimate excuse to publicly admire his man. The spread of his shoulders under the yoke of cotton shirting, his dexterous hands so clever in their bed calmly and gently squeezing off round after round. Soon he had nine cheap, carnival, stuffed dogs lined up on the deck and a crowd of at least a dozen onlookers rooting for him from behind.

Face pulled a few more dollars from his wallet.

"You have nine, Faceman. Enough for each of them," BA noted as Murdock stepped up to gather the hounds.

"Just one more time around," the Lieutenant responded without looking back. Taking his position one more time he began firing. Each shot nailed the sun or the moon. He had $9 giving him 18 shots at 3 points each. With 54 on target points he was 4 points over the number he needed for the prize he had his eye on. Standing up straight he raised his hands as though under arrest and with a smile signaled he was done.

He twisted around at his waist when a round of applause started up behind him. He laughed and took a little lopsided bow for the cheering section of strangers he had been oblivious to. Turning his attention back to the barker he said something that was swallowed in the last throes of clapping. Pointing up to the premium prize row he nodded when the young man put his hand on a three foot tall elephant wearing a colorful back pad outlined in gold braiding with matching tassels on four corners.

Before handing the oversized stuffed animal to the marksman the barker shook his hand saying, "Man? That was a privilege to watch."

Face laughed and thanked him. Spinning around holding the beast he called to the kids, "Who's going to help carry Colonel Smith's elephant?" All of the children surged toward him. The ones being carried wiggled and squirmed to be put down. "Okay. It's up to you guys to keep the elephant clean. Think you can handle that?"

It only took a moment for the kids to figure out they couldn't manage the elephant plus the stuffed dogs Murdock had passed out to them. Face was beaming. "Guess you're going to have to carry your own elephant." Hannibal took it and rolled his eyes, but was smirking all along.

Emma turned to Face and asked, "Why did you give Colonel Smith an elephant?"

"Because the Colonel's nickname is Hannibal. Do you know who Hannibal was?"

Emma shook her head no.

"He was a warrior who lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. And ya know what he did?"

Face noticed it was more than just Emma shaking her head no. It was all the kids staring wide eyed up to him. "He crossed over a mountain range on elephants."

None of the kids moved. Finally one of the boys said, "Wow!" And they all started talking at once.  
  
Hannibal stood holding his elephant in his long arms to his chest unable to hide the smile that had spread wide. He was looking at Face who was smiling back when the younger man took a step backward to allow a couple to move up to the booth. Not looking where he was placing his feet he was still smiling when he tripped over a power cord that had snaked its way between the shooting gallery and the lemon shakeup stand next to it.

Hannibal had lost sight of him for a second or two as the couple passed by. His eyes travelled upward as the lights in the booth and concession stands surrounding it momentarily dimmed then blinked out. There was a sound of an arc discharge and the smell of ozone filled the air.

The female of the couple didn't so much scream as gasp. Her boyfriend pulled her to the side and wrapped his arms around her. Hannibal followed where the boyfriend looked back over his shoulder.

There on the ground lay Face. It was darkened in the area but Hannibal could see he wasn't moving. As if a switch had been flicked he dove towards the man on the ground. Someone grabbed at him saying, "No! That could be a live wire!" Hannibal didn't give a damn yanking his arm free. Dropping his elephant he was at Face's side.

He felt for the carotid. He pushed in along the windpipe and rolled over a tendon. "Oh God, no. Temp. Come on."

"Look out, Boss." It was BA. He unceremoniously grabbed the Colonel by the arm and dragged him back. Hannibal tried to fight him to get back to his man. "No, Boss. Let me get him off these cables." BA lifted the still body easily, setting him back on the ground a few feet away.

Hannibal became aware of Murdock speaking, "...Right. That one. Yeah next to the lemonade thing." He was close to them now and said, "I'm giving the phone to someone else. Mike! Take this! Talk to them." And he was beside Face as BA set him down. He reached for Face's neck.

Hannibal surprised himself by how calm his voice sounded, "No pulse."

Murdock dropped his ear the Face's chest. Nothing. "No heartbeat."

BA replied with, "Not breathing." He had Face's head tilted back and pinched his nostrils. "Blow!" he called forcing a breath into the lifeless man.

Murdock was lacing his fingers together in preparation to begin chest compressions. He held his hands a few inches above Face's sternum and watched as his chest rose from the air BA blew in his lungs. As it settled down again Murdock began to count the first thirty compressions.

Hannibal began trembling. The harder he tried to bring it under control the more violent it became. He watched as Murdock called, "Thirty!" loudly and BA again blew in Face's mouth. Hannibal could hear children crying and knew it was their little group, but couldn't pull his eyes much less himself away from his three boys.

He heard over the PA system orders issued to clear a path through the midway to allow an ambulance through the crowd. It was repeated over and over to move out of the center of the midway. There was a horn blast not far off. He heard Mike yelling, "We're here!" Hannibal finally looked up and saw Mike talking in a phone and spinning away to flag someone down.

At their little meeting in the driveway before piling in a van to come to the carnival each child was assigned a number. Mike now ordered them to count off. All nine answered through sniveling and tears. Hannibal saw each of them were clutching stuffed dogs to their chests and holding tight. He looked down to the ground and saw the elephant, tossed aside. He reached for it and pulled it near.

Murdock used words for some of his numbers, punching out, "We, twenty-four, need, twenty-six, to, twenty-eight, switch, twenty-nine, Thirty!"

Hannibal was beside the pilot before he registered he had moved. He interlaced his fingers and began counted compressions after he watched his lover's chest fall from the breath BA had blown. There was a loud woop of a siren close behind him and before he reach thirty he was shoved out of the way.

Paramedics with their blue uniforms and calm determination surrounded Face. Hannibal looked around feeling out of sorts, "How did you get here so fast?"

They ignored him, but Murdock answered. "When I called 911 they said they had units on the grounds for the demo derby tonight."

A stretcher was rolled by Hannibal as he heard someone say, "We've got a pulse! Let's get him out of here before he codes on us again."

BA was back with Mike and the kids. Murdock thought he looked a bit like a hen shielding chicks under his massive wings, arms. A giant hen with an oversized stuffed elephant tucked around the back of his neck.

One of the paramedics approached. "Need some information, gentlemen."

"If you let Colonel Smith here ride along, he can give you all the information you need."

"Come on then. We need to get him out of here."

They all turned toward the ambulance just as the stretcher was being lifted in.

"Murdock...."

"You go, Boss. BA and I will help get the little ones home then we'll meet you at the hospital. Hannibal all at once looked worried, agitated and grateful. "On your way, Hannibal." Murdock nudged him in the direction of the ambulance and watched has he climbed in and the doors were shut behind him.

Murdock watched as the vehicle slowly pulled away once more blowing its horn. He could swear he heard a fizzle in his head, a short circuit. Looking over at Mike and BA he saw the kids were quiet now. He made fists and reminded himself he needed to hold it together for a little while longer. BA chose then to look his way. He gave Murdock a small one sided grin.

"Come on, Murdock. Let's go. Think this has been enough adventure for one day." BA clapped him on the shoulder when he rejoined the group. He knew the fragile pilot could only hold on for so long before the enormity of what had just happened to his best friend sunk in.

BA began preparing himself for what would surely shape up to be a long night. He knew it would be messy and emotional. But he could feel deep down, in the end, it would be alright.

 

 

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Thank you for reading!


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